Is there the possibility of meeting Buddhist spirits in your real life, for example spirits that tell you things? I ask because I believe in paranormal activity and that this phenomenon might happen to anyone...

odysseus wrote:Is there the possibility of meeting Buddhist spirits in your real life, for example spirits that tell you things? I ask because I believe in paranormal activity and that this phenomenon might happen to anyone...

Yes, but it's not a subject Western Buddhists care to discuss because they live in a monophasic culture. It is almost a taboo. Generally speaking, monophasic cultures only value waking consciousness while polyphasic cultures value the paranormal in addition to waking consciousness. This might very well explain why some Western Buddhists are skeptical of rebirth and karma.

Is there the possibility of meeting Buddhist spirits in your real life, for example spirits that tell you things?

What are 'Buddhist spirits'? Are you referring to traditional Buddhist cosmology which covers stuff like the Eightfold Division of beings? And how do you know that they 'tell' things?

I ask because I believe in paranormal activity and that this phenomenon might happen to anyone...

'Paranormal'? How do you define this? Yes, 'might' but no certainty it would for some... like an aunt of mine who spent more than 3 decades of her life ridiculing those who experience such stuff just because she didn't until that one fateful night... shall not go into that...

Very few of them who have received our help and merits tell us things or give us a warning.They can play a role of protectors.The rest have too many attachments and give us nothing but trouble and pain.We can ask them not to trouble us.Just tell them to appear in our dreams and ask for what they need.They mostly need their favorite food which they miss.Always hungry.Once a Chinese girl told me in my dream that she had not drunk tea(teh terik) for a long time. I offered her a drink the following day after chanting some mantras and transferring the merits onto her.What the heck, I can feed a hungry dog or cat,give a beggar some money or food so I see no harm in giving the spirits what they need but it is always given together with the merits with the hope that they become wiser and learn to let go.

It is possible that there are Buddhist spirits. However I would take whatever a spirit says to you with a grain of salt. They can be extremely helpful or they can lead you into quite a lot of trouble. Usually it is the latter of the two. Be careful and try not to get into some kind of spirit worship, that only leads to craziness.

I have quite a lot of experience with this. I have always seen spirits, especially as a small child. I can tell you that some of them are very old and some of them very young. Some mean you harm, some want to play and some want to tell you something that may, or may not be, wise or important. There are even animal spirits. There are various ways they get your attention, through dreams, through whispering or talking out loud, to the more dramatic like touching, pushing, pulling or poking. They can also appear visually.

It's not anything to get excited about really. Most information they give you is not particularly useful and is sort of attention seeking.

“It is easy to believe we are each waves and forget we are also the ocean.”― Jon J. Muth “Consider your own place in the universal oneness of which we are all a part, from which we all arise, and to which we all return.”― David Fontana

Shii wrote:It is possible that there are Buddhist spirits. However I would take whatever a spirit says to you with a grain of salt. They can be extremely helpful or they can lead you into quite a lot of trouble. Usually it is the latter of the two. Be careful and try not to get into some kind of spirit worship, that only leads to craziness.

I have quite a lot of experience with this. I have always seen spirits, especially as a small child. I can tell you that some of them are very old and some of them very young. Some mean you harm, some want to play and some want to tell you something that may, or may not be, wise or important. There are even animal spirits. There are various ways they get your attention, through dreams, through whispering or talking out loud, to the more dramatic like touching, pushing, pulling or poking. They can also appear visually.

It's not anything to get excited about really. Most information they give you is not particularly useful and is sort of attention seeking.

In the Lankavatara, the spirits are apparently Buddhas. This should be taken literally from what I can tell.

“Then, Mahamati, sustained by the power of the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas at their first stage will attain the Bodhisattva-Samadhi, known as the Light of Mahayana, which belongs to the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. They will immediately see the Tathagatas, Arhats, Fully-Enlightened Ones appearing before them personally, who come from all the different abodes in the ten quarters of the world and who now facing the Bodhisattvas will impart to them their sustaining power displayed with the body, mouth, and words.”

In the Lankavatara, the spirits are apparently Buddhas. This should be taken literally from what I can tell.

“Then, Mahamati, sustained by the power of the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas at their first stage will attain the Bodhisattva-Samadhi, known as the Light of Mahayana, which belongs to the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. They will immediately see the Tathagatas, Arhats, Fully-Enlightened Ones appearing before them personally, who come from all the different abodes in the ten quarters of the world and who now facing the Bodhisattvas will impart to them their sustaining power displayed with the body, mouth, and words.”

I think that is something entirely on a different level than your common house ghost. If, and when, you are in such a situation you will know in your gut, in the core of your being, what to do at such a time.

“It is easy to believe we are each waves and forget we are also the ocean.”― Jon J. Muth “Consider your own place in the universal oneness of which we are all a part, from which we all arise, and to which we all return.”― David Fontana

In Germany, Freiburg, there is (or was) a strange public agency: they investigated about "ghosts". If anybody in the general public has a problem with strange phenomena, he can call this agency and ask for advice. It's really true. I saw a film about them in German TV.For me it was extremly interesting, because i had something like a noisy ghoast (poltergeist) that time. Three or five times a day something fell down to the ground without apparent reason. Once even my big crystal ball (it was a wedding gift) fell from the board down on the bed, on the pillow where i slept... Fortunately no person was in that bed in that moment.

So in the film the chief of this agency was asked if he believes in ghosts. He answered there is something without doubt. But it seemed to him that this "something" is created by the minds. (Sounds buddhist, doesn't it?) Families who suffer from ghost-phenomena have some unspoken hidden problems. And the best remedy against ghosts would be to speak out and work on this unconcious problems. Often this are painful things that happened in the past, now hidden in order to prevent from pain...

Regarding the falling crystal ball I was thinking about my poltergeist in this way "What kind of painfull occurence may i have blocked?"Looking at it in this light the answer was extremely simple. Immediately i had to cry and to admit i have to work on this, talk about it, think of it - in order to be honest with myself and others...The poltergeist vanished immediatly.

But by the way: i do believe and experience buddhist spirits or so-called deities who are helpful and full of love and compassion. In my meditation i can see them and listen to them.

odysseus wrote:Is there the possibility of meeting Buddhist spirits in your real life, for example spirits that tell you things? I ask because I believe in paranormal activity and that this phenomenon might happen to anyone...

I've only ever "sensed" a handful of things that I might consider 'spirits'. I wouldn't class them as Buddhist nor were they able to tell me things. They felt very real. I took note of them but ignored them. A few were neutral in tone but three of them were malevolent and were (I subsequently discovered) linked to serious disease. They are out there but I would not advise getting involved.